Penn State senior linebacker Michael Mauti, the team's top defender and leader, suffered an apparent left knee injury in Saturday's game against Indiana.

It's the same knee that Mauti tore the ACL in a year ago in a game vs. Eastern Michigan last September. According to The Patriot-News, tears were streaming down his face as he left the stadium on a cart. Mauti was blocked by an Indiana player, and the contact came at Mauti's knee.

Penn State players gathered en masse as Mauti was carted off the field—a scene similar to the one that South Carolina gave to Marcus Lattimore when he sustained his knee injury vs. Tennessee on Oct. 27.

That's not the only knee injury the star linebacker has sustained in his career. He tore his right ACL in preseason practice in 2009 and missed the entire season. Though he returned in 2010 and finished fifth on the team in tackles (67), ankle and shoulder injuries limited him at times.

Among those offering support was Jay Paterno, the former Penn State assistant and son of longtime Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno, who died in January. Jay Paterno said via Twitter: "Please be okay Michael Mauti."